Cousin Miss Perfect
by Lost and Never Found
Summary: Scootaloo is not happy when her cousin comes for a visit. With Little Miss Perfect showing up the Cutie Mark Crusaders all afternoon, perhaps there is something they are missing behind that "perfect" façade? Only a thunderstorm will reveal the truth...
1. Chapter 1

…**Don't ask. I don't know where this came from. Wait, yes I do. Being sick two weeks ago and watching the ENTIRE FIRST SEASON of MLP: FIM in two days, and then having four days off in a row, with a weekend in between, then being told I have another tomorrow, and being so bored that I resort to playing the games on the official website. For the record, I am the QUEEN of applebucking behind Applejack. I had a top score of 1500 in that mini-game before I got bored and changed to go mess with Rainbow Dash. And believe me, that game could have gone on FOREVER if I hadn't quit.**

**Anywho.**

**Random drabble for the Crusaders, because they are adorable. And we never see ANY of Scootaloo's family, which bugged me. Also, IN WHAT WORLD IS HER MANE HOT PINK? Someone go whap whoever put it as that color on TV Tropes [dot] com and Wikipedia, it is very much PURPLE in the series. This is a two-shot, so I'll get to the next chapter at…some point. I'm not sure when. I have novel chapters I'm trying to write for a class at the moment, so whenever I get more pages written tomorrow, I'll turn to work on this.**

**Story Summary: Scootaloo is not happy when her cousin comes for a visit. With Little Miss Perfect showing up the Cutie Mark Crusaders all afternoon, perhaps there is something they are missing behind that "perfect" façade? Only a thunderstorm will reveal the truth…**

**Chapter Summary: Rarity is sympathetic, Cousin Miss Perfect arrives, and there's so many customers, it may be too much for even Pinkie Pie!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything MLP related, this is all for fun and no profit was made. I do own the concept of Locket (not from the 80's show, new one), but that's about it.**

Normally, where you saw one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, you saw the others not far behind. So to see the bright orange pegasus by herself wasn't just odd, it made Rarity stop and take a second look. No, there was no sign of her sister, or of Applebloom. Concerned now, both for the safety of the other two fillies and the one by herself, she dismissed her need for a snack between projects and trotted over.

"Scootaloo, is everything alright?" she asked, lowering her head so she was closer to eye-level with the little dear.

Looking dejectedly through her purple bangs, she murmured, "'Ello, Rarity. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are at Sugarcube Corner getting snacks."

"I asked about you, darling," Rarity gently corrected as she lied down next to the filly under the tree. While the shade was nice, she doubted that was why Scootaloo had chosen it. "Now, what has you so glum?" Admittedly, the girls were a handful (even after their sleepover at Fluttershy's that she _still_ hadn't heard the full story of), but Rarity couldn't bear seeing one of her sister's friends so upset.

She got a look out of the corner of violet eyes, before Scootaloo focused on the grass tickling her nose again. "My cousin's coming to Ponyville for a visit," she grumbled.

"Your cousin?" Rarity prodded.

"Yeah… From Cloudsdale…"

"Surely they aren't _that_ bad?" Scootaloo gave her a look that could peel paint. "Or perhaps they are," Rarity conceded. "When are they set to arrive?"

"This afternoon." Scootaloo raised her head, shaking it in complete disgust. "I have to show her around, and she's going to be here for _three whole days_."

Rarity twisted over what to say in her mind. She couldn't very well offer to see to the cousin for Scootaloo, since she suspected the filly's parents wanted her to actually spend time with the other. However… "What if you ask her to join you and the other girls for today?" she asked, a slight tone of coaxing in her voice.

"Because she already _has_ her cutie mark!" Now Scootaloo just sounded furious, and Rarity sensed she had hit on exactly what had the young pegasus upset with her cousin. If the two were close in age, that would no doubt make it even worse.

With a sigh, the unicorn lowered her head and gave Scootaloo a reassuring nuzzle. "Perhaps she'll have fun helping you three find yours," she suggested, "It shan't hurt to ask, don't you think?"

"Yeah, I guess so…"

"Then let's gather the others and go meet…what is your cousin's name?"

An expression of grumpiness on her face, Scootaloo stood up and answered sullenly. "Locket. Her name is Locket."

* * *

><p>Rarity herded the excited Crusaders (even Scootaloo couldn't stay glum in the presence of her friends) towards the edge of town where the now-infamous cousin was set to arrive. Both Sweetie and Applebloom were bouncing off the walls due to being given free sugar canes by Pinkie Pie, and the elder unicorn couldn't help but be glad that they weren't in her shop at the moment.<p>

"Oh, oh, what does your cousin look like, Scootaloo?"

"Does she fly yet?"

"What's her cutie mark?"

"Why'd her folks name her 'Locket?'"

"Now girls, calm down," Rarity gently chided, which made the questions stop for at least a minute. "She'll be herself in a minute, and all your questions will be answered." Judging from the scowl on Scootaloo's face, she was also saving the pegasus from having to answer about the cousin she obviously didn't care for.

"Aww, but we're just curious," Applebloom defended. However, the familiar sound of wing beats made them keep from arguing with Rarity too much, and the group looked up just in time to see a pegasus land down the road.

Much like Rarity had expected, the filly wasn't much older than the trio in her care. Purple hair hung in slightly messy curls down her neck and from her tail, making the white of her coat seem even brighter, as Rarity could attest to from experience. One particularly rebellious curl was pulled back with a bright blue clip with a gold heart on it, while a matching blue collar held a locket at her throat. Folding her wings, she trotted forward curiously, blue eyes bright and friendly. "Scootaloo!" she called eagerly breaking into a canter. "Hello!"

Reluctantly—with a shove from Rarity—Scootaloo came out from behind the unicorn and greeted her cousin who immediately wrapped her neck around her stiff one in a hug. "'Lo, Locket," she muttered, obviously relieved when the other pegasus backed up a few steps. Her cousin's cutie mark was practically glaring at her, the gold crescent moon with pale blue clouds having not been on her flank just a few months ago. When Rarity pointedly cleared her throat, she gestured to her side. "My friends came with me."

"Oh, hello to you too! It is so nice to meet Scootaloo's friends!" she said taking a few steps forward to touch noses in greeting with the other fillies.

"Welcome to Ponyville!" Appleblossom took over introductions. "This here is Sweetie Belle, and I'm Applebloom—"

"And this is my older sister, Rarity," Sweetie Belle piped up as she looked up to her big sister.

Nodding her head, Rarity was charmed when Locket did an impromptu curtsey. "A pleasure, darling," she greeted, and Locket beamed at her, practically bouncing in place as her wings fluttered. "Now, I trust you girls to stay out of trouble this afternoon," she said as she prepared to depart for her shop as she belatedly remembered she left in the middle of a huge project. "And Locket, I hope you enjoy your visit to Ponyville." As she turned hoof and walked away, the pony of Generosity briefly wondered if it was a mistake to leave such a complex situation behind her. However, she knew the girls would need to straight out their relations, and there was little she could do to make them do so peacefully. With a sigh, she just hoped they didn't ruin anyone's property in the process.

Once the adult left, the four fillies stood around awkwardly, Locket in particular looking uncomfortable. Finally, she asked hesitantly, "So… What do you all usually do in the afternoons?"

"We try to find our special talents!" Sweetie immediately offered, however it only disgruntled Scootaloo.

"Not that you need to…" the orange pegasus muttered.

Her Earth pony buddy heard her, but Applebloom wasn't sure what the fuss was about. "We're determined to earn our cutie marks no matter what," she added to Sweetie's comment, before asking curiously, "How'd you go about gettin' yers anyway?"

"Why don't we do what we planned to do last week?" Scootaloo interrupted—loudly—even as Locket opened her mouth.

The other three looked at her, then shared shrugs. "I don't mind," Locket admitted, "I just came to spend time with my cousin."

"Well, we can show yah around Ponyville in the process," Applebloom offered, and Sweetie nodded in agreement. "Now, where to first? We talked about goin' to help Applejack with the harvest again, and Sweetie Pie thought we should try helpin' Pinkie Pie again too."

"Pinkie Pie is swamped today, though," Sweetie pointed out worriedly, remembering how frantically the pink pony had been running around the shop. Still cheerful, but obviously half-crazy trying to keep up with orders. They looked to Scootaloo expectantly, used to her immediately insisting that they needed to try anyway.

"Maybe then she could really use the extra help?" Locket pointed out when Scootaloo didn't offer anything. "I mean, it's worth a shot, if you think that one of your talents lies with sweets…" She looked slightly unsure of her advice, but it was what the other two needed to hear.

Beaming, Sweetie and Applebloom said together, "_Cutie Mark Crusaders, GO!"_ at full volume, then looked over at Scootaloo when she didn't pitch in. "Scootaloo?" Applebloom questioned, giving her friend a nudge. "You alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, Cutie Mark Crusaders!" she said, forcing herself to sound enthusiastic. It was enough to relieve some of her friends' worry, and her cousin was just waiting patiently to find out what was happening next. With that, the group took off at an eager walk for Ponyville properly. Along the way, they pointed out different landmarks, like Twilight's library and the town square. Locket looked properly impressed by the front of Sugarcube Corner, and the quartet trotted inside…where it was utter bedlam.

Ponies were demanding their treats, and Pinkie Pie kept darting between the front and the back to fill them, always a smile on her face, but even she was looking a little strained. Cupcakes, lollipops, sugar canes, cookies, every treat imaginable was going out the door but more customers kept coming in. It took ages for the four fillies to work their way to the counter.

"Heygirls, can'ttalk, whatcanIgetcha?"

It took a moment for the girls' to follow what exactly the hurried pony was saying. "We wanted to see if we could help yah out any," Applebloom offered, though reluctantly. She remembered her failed attempt at cupcakes a little too clearly.

"Oh, Icould_totally_useanextrahoof! Oreight! Comeonback!" Using her nose, Pinkie raised the split-counter, and the four fillies hurriedly ducked back. Taking a breath, Pinkie finally slowed down as she brought the girls to the kitchen around back. "I've got help making the treats, but I'm losing _so_ much time going back and forth, back and forth, back and forth—"

"Pinkie…" Applebloom cut her off to bring her to the point faster.

"—that I am totally losing time! So why don't you girls fill out these orders here as I send them back, and then one of you bringing them to the counter, kay? Alright, see yah!" With her half-listed instructions, she darted back front.

It took a moment for the girl to spot the orders she was talking about, but when they did all four fillies just stared, mouths open. There had to be at least twenty-five orders waiting to be filled, and they had passed by at least sixteen other ponies in the shop!

Shaking her head, Sweetie moaned, "How can we possibly get through these?"

Scootaloo, however, had regained some of her spunk. "Well, we won't unless we try!" She approached one, squinting to read the hasty handwriting.

Locket, however, tilted her head as if thinking. "I don't think we can if we work on our own… Look how it's wearing out your friend," she pointed out, which didn't help the dejected Sweetie. However, she continued, "Why don't we split up jobs? Like Scootaloo, you can read out the orders, and Sweetie, you can gather them up. Applebloom can package them up, and I can take them up front to Pinkie. Or whatever other order you guys want."

"That is such a good idea!" Applebloom immediately pounced on the idea. "But I'll switch jobs with Sweetie, she likes decoratin' stuff more."

Scootaloo's wings ruffled, but she reluctantly turned back to the orders. "Alright then, Crusaders!" she barked, "Let's get going! Order One, two sour apple lollipops!"

"Two sour apple lollipops!" Applebloom repeated before gathering the necessary treats, using wax paper to protect them as she brought them to the counter where Sweetie had already made herself at home. She quickly had the treats wrapped in colored cellophane and ribbons before sticking them in a clear sack with more ribbon. Meanwhile, Scootaloo was already calling the next order.

Locket took the chance to find a saddlebag that was hanging on a hook, obviously meant for deliveries outside of the store. Grabbing it, she swung it over her haunches and then walked over to Scootaloo's post. "Which tickets are called?" she asked. "Maybe you should give them to Sweetie as you read them off so we can stick them with the sacks and boxes…"

Scowling, Scootaloo had to admit it was a good idea. "These three are the ones I already called," she said, pointing at the top three. Standing up on her hind feet, Locket took them with her to the table and labeled each sack and box before she grabbed a load in the saddlebags and took them up front.

The girls worked well together, with plenty of chatter in between when they finally reached lags in the orders. Locket told them some of her stories from Cloudsdale and her two friends, Sweetkiss and Dawnrise, making the others laugh, even a stand-offish Scootaloo. Things were going well till the Cutie Mark Crusaders saw that the normal workers of the store had things completely in hand now, and they weren't needed anymore. Walking to the front where Locket had just disappeared, they found that she had been waylaid by a customer as Pinkie handed out the last of their treats.

"Aren't you a sweet heart, helping while you're on vacation," the old mare cooed, giving Locket a pat on the head. "Your parents must be so proud of you!"

"Thank you, ma'am," Locket answered modestly, ducking her head down and smiling, "but my—"

"And so polite," she continued, cutting off the pegasus filly, "Pinkie, you should consider having her help you full time, she must have been so good for business."

"There's no way I would have kept up with orders today without her," Pinkie easily admitted as the stallion at the register took a box of cupcakes from her and helped the old mare leave.

Applebloom couldn't help herself. "What about us?" she protested.

The pink pony blinked, obviously confused by the offense written on the other three fillies' faces as she turned around to face them. "Well, duh, of course I meant you three too! I mean, you _all _did _such_ good jobs today!" she said, even as she slid open the glass display case. Locket nodded her head, obviously quick to agree as she stared at the other three with wide, innocent eyes. Slowly, the Earth pony and unicorn calmed down, realizing that obviously Pinkie hadn't meant to exclude the Crusaders and the old mare hadn't known they were even in the back. And Locket _had _been up front all afternoon, so it was to be expected that people thought she was working alone. However, the expression on Scootaloo's face was pure rebellion. She obviously hadn't forgiven quite yet.

"There! Some of the house favorites, your reward for helping me out today!" Pinkie said, taking a few steps back and holding out a hoof in an obvious _ta da _gesture. Eagerly, the girls approached and appropriately oohed and ahhed over the various sweets on the counter. Sweetie instantly went for bag of strawberry salt water taffy, while Applebloom grabbed another sack, this time with milk and white chocolate bonbons. However, Scootaloo's eyes narrowed when she saw Locket hesitating between one of the sour apple lollipops, her own favorite candy, and another in cherry-flavor. Darting forward, she snapped the green candy into her mouth where her cousin couldn't deprive her of it.

Obviously startled, Locket took a step back, but finally smiled. "I thought you liked those," she admitted, "but I wasn't sure." Reaching over, she agreeably took the bright red lollipop into her mouth and the four left the candy store.

"To Sweet Apple Acres next?" Applebloom suggested, "We could hang out at the clubhouse than go see if Applejack still needs help with the harvestin'."

"I'd like a chance to eat my candy," Sweetie admitted, and it was quickly agreed. Only Locket hovered at the edges of the group, like she wasn't quite sure how to interact with them. However, the pegasus smiled, nodded, and agreeably followed them as they led her to the edge of town, towards Applebloom's home and their next adventure.

**Yeah, I'm cutting it off there. There's some heavy stuff that accompanies that candy, like why Scootaloo doesn't like her cousin (since we all saw that Locket is just an awkward, unsure little darling, or so I hope you saw her like I see her in my head), and of course they still need to meet Applejack and some of the rest of the mane cast (I'm only down TWO. Out of SIX).**

**Next Time: Scootaloo recounts childhood horror stories, Locket tells about how she got her cutie mark, some applebucking, and a thunderstorm that may be what cures the rift between these two cousins.**


	2. Chapter 2

**So… This might have taken me longer than I thought it was going to. Because I apparently am incapable of waking up before noon during the summer. Who knew? So instead of writing this and the next Batman Beyond fanfic chapter, I've been working on homework. -_- And then the president of my anime club at school and his girlfriend died on the 4****th****, and, well… I was lucky to get ANYTHING done these past two days. Sorry it took so long, and if this chapter wasn't quite what you were expecting.**

**Story Summary: Scootaloo is not happy when her cousin comes for a visit. With Little Miss Perfect showing up the Cutie Mark Crusaders all afternoon, perhaps there is something they are missing behind that "perfect" façade? Only a thunderstorm will reveal the truth…**

**Chapter Summary: Scootaloo recounts childhood horror stories, Locket tells about how she got her cutie mark, some applebucking, and a thunderstorm that may be what cures the rift between these two cousins.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything MLP related, this is all for fun and no profit was made. I do own the concept of Locket (not from the 80's show, new one), but that's about it.**

To say you could hear a pinfeather drop in the tree house would have been an understatement. While both Scootaloo's and Locket's mouths were occupied with their respective lollipops, that didn't stop Scootaloo from giving her cousin dirty looks, while she seemed content to look around the room. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle met eyes, sharing baffled expressions. Finally, with a pointed gesture from Sweetie Belle as the two finished their candy, the Earth filly drawled out. "So… Locket… Um…" Frantically searching her mind, she finally said the first question that came out of her mouth, "How'd you get your cutie mark?"

Sweetie Palm stuck her hoof between her eyes in frustration. That was exactly the wrong question to ask. The orange pegasus's expression grew darker, and the white one seemed to wilt a little as she picked up the vibe. "Um… Well, a couple of months ago, I was helping my dad with some of his cloud sculptures—"

"Cloud sculptures?" Applebloom asked in confusion.

Scootaloo made a face, feeling forced to explain something that her friends wouldn't understand and Locket no doubt took for granted. "Yeah, stuff like decorations for fountains and stuff in the cloud cities, that's the really detailed stuff, and then the clouds that make certain shapes are the big ones who work under the princesses. Uncle Frostmane makes the little ones as a hobby."

"Yeah, Papa's a flight instructor normally," Locket added with a nod, happy that her cousin was speaking, and obviously missing that she was still upset about the current conversation. "He was making a sculpture, a really complicated one of the two princesses as part of a competition to be part of a gallery in the upcoming Solstice Celebration. He used snow flecks to make Princess Celestia's mane sparkle, and he used different sort of storm clouds to add variations in color." Her excitement for the piece of art was contagious, and all three Crusaders were listening attentively. "I was helping bring him clouds. But then… umm…." Now the filly flushed, and her wings scrunched up on her bag. "I ended up accidentally knocking the part that was Princess Luna over."

Both unicorn and pony gasped in horror, while Scootaloo cringed, knowing exactly how much work went into making one of those sculptures. "What did yah do?" Applebloom asked breathlessly.

"Um… I apologized. A lot. Papa wasn't mad, necessarily, but I could tell he was upset that I had sent the cloud everywhere and sat him back hours. He took a break, and while he was gone I thought maybe I could fix it."

"And did you?"

She shrugged. "Sorta. It wasn't very good, but Papa was able to fix it easier thanks to my work. And he let me help him more actively. It was so much fun to manipulate the clouds that I wished to do it again, maybe even on a bigger scale. When we were done, that's when we noticed my cutie mark had appeared at some point while we were working."

The fillies shared looks, none of them sure how they could apply this. "Maybe that means that even though we mess up at somethin', that doesn't mean it isn't our special talent," Applebloom offered, and the other two shared similar looks, neither quite sure either what to make of that story.

However, Sweetie decided to continue their impromptu questionnaire. "So are you going to do sculptures like your dad?"

"Yeah, and I'm taking classes at school to learn how the big designs are made, too," Locket revealed, sitting up a little straighter in obvious pride at her skill. "My teacher says I'm coming along really well."

"But only the best sculpting ponies go to Canterlot to serve the palace!" Scootaloo immediately protested, and her cousin wilted again.

Locket absently drew her hoof along the floor. "Well, it's just a goal, I may not reach it," she said softly.

"It seems like a lot of work, she means," Sweetie Belle added quickly. "Maybe you should aim lower." Locket just nodded, watching her cousin who still seemed really annoyed.

Applebloom decided to intercede before things got crazy…or crazier. "Hey ya'll, it's startin' to get dark, we need to get to Applejack if we're goin' to help with the harvest."

"Lead the way!" Sweetie immediately agreed, and they led the way out of the tree house, Scootaloo not far behind them. Locket lingered for a second before eventually following behind the trio, listening to their laughter and jokes as her cousin finally relaxed again.

* * *

><p>Tilting her head back to make it easier to scratch her mane, Applejack stared at her little sister and her friends—plus one, she noticed the white filly keeping at the group's fringes—with trepidation. "I dunno, Applebloom, you three are mighty small," she said slowly. "'m not sure you're goin' to have the strength to knock dem apples down."<p>

"At least let us try, sis!" Applebloom quickly defended, and Applejack was hard pressed to deny her.

Looking over the farm, it took her a second to find a patch of trees that she knew were a little older and a little more willing to release their bounty. "If ya'll can get one or two of those trees to drop their loads, that'll do me a world of good," she finally said, pointing to the acre in question.

"_CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS GO!"_ The three fillies immediately shouted as they took off for a run…leaving behind the fourth.

She shut her eyes as the others tore past her like a tornado, opening her eyes and blinking when she saw they were gone, leaving her alone with Applejack. Smiling weakly, the white pegasus ducked her head down a little as she raised her wings sheepishly. Giving her an encouraging nudge, the blonde Earth pony chuckled as the filly took the incentive to trot more sedately after the others. Shaking her head, she turned to her own acre to harvest. As long as no one was hurt, that should keep them occupied for a few hours…

Locket approached the other three fillies quietly, watching them work. Rather than being individuals, they were trying to kick all at the same time. Each time their six hooves hit, two or three apples would tremble and fall, but it was obvious that at least Sweetie wasn't used to this sort of physical activity and was growing tired. And somehow, Locket doubted that four hooves would be enough. However, her back legs were probably in even worse shape than Sweetie's, she'd been flying everywhere she could at her dad's suggestion to strengthen her wings for longer flights. Looking at the branches, she tried to think like her father was teaching her to, out of the cloud. Fluttering her wings, she hovered for a minute before her weight hit the ground again with a thump. A lightning bolt went off in her mind, and she eagerly flapped her wings to take her up to a nearby branch. Maybe this would work.

_Thump…plip, plop, plip, plip, plop, plip, plip, plop._

Stopping, the three fillies turned to look at the neighboring tree that they were working on. Up in a branch, Locket was looking down in glee at a full bucket. "It worked!" she squealed, and then noticed that she had the attention of the other three. "Umm…Hi?" she said, smiling slightly. And while their faces and smiles were stiff, they returned her greeting and continued with their own tree, each feeling new energy enter her hindquarters.

* * *

><p>"It's ALWAYS been that way," Scootaloo groaned from where she sprawled out on the clubhouse floor, her entire body sore from the applebucking they had just finished. She had no idea where her cousin was, and honestly she didn't care right now. "I'll do something, and find out precious cousin Locket's already done, and done it better."<p>

"I didn' quite get it earlier, but I see what yah mean now," Applebloom agreed with a scowl. "I mean, at Sugarcube Corner was one thing, but here at the farm? Why did she have to be such a showoff?"

Sweetie just fiddled with her bag, not sure she liked how this conversation was going. Sure, she understood where her friends were coming from. To see things come so easily for Locket was hard, and that she didn't work with them didn't help matters. But she wasn't sure the other filly was doing it out of pride. Rather than say so, she settled with popping another piece of taffy in her mouth and let the other two rant.

"Mom is _always_ telling stories from Uncle Frostmane, talking about how _marvelous_ Locket is, how she's doing so well at school, how she has so much talent. Even when we were little, everyone thought she was so cute and precious at family gatherings. It's _disgusting_," Scootaloo said in annoyance as she stamped one of her front hooves. "She's everyone's perfect little darling, and _I can't stand her!_"

All three of their heads jerked up at the sound of clattering from the door. Closest to the door, Sweetie stood and walked over and saw four bottles of apple cider on the ground, spilling their contents everywhere. Raising her head, she scanned the ground and, when she didn't find anything, looked skyward. There, almost lost among the clouds, a couple of splashes of purple and a glitter of gold showed. "Guys… I think she heard you," she said softly as she came inside, bringing with her the four bottles of cider to show where Locket had been.

Applebloom had the decency to flinch, however, Scootaloo's back stayed completely straight, her feathers all fluffed out. "Good, it's about time she heard how I felt!" she said defensively, and the two others just shared looks, not sure what to say. Eventually they led the conversation somewhere else, content to wait for Locket to return.

They were cut off, this time by a cerulean head with its rainbow mane poking through the window. "Hey girls," Rainbow Dash greeted, smiling at how excited Scootaloo instantly looked, "Applejack said I would find you up here." Suddenly, she got serious. "You guys need to evacuate the clubhouse, okay? We've got a big storm coming up, we missed some rain a few weeks ago and now we need to play catch-up."

"Sure thing!" Applebloom easily agreed, and they exited their clubhouse for the safety of the ground. "We could go to Twilight's library and see if she's got that book on famous cutie marks yet?" she immediately suggested, and the other two agreed.

However, Scootaloo looked at the upcoming storm being built with trepidation. Before Rainbow Dash left, she called out her name before asking, "Is there going to be a lot of thunder and lightning in that storm?" Her tone was worried, which made the others look at her in confusion. Scootaloo had never shown worry over a storm before…

Tilting her head, Rainbow Dash said, "Yeah, and plenty of it. Why? I didn't take you for the sort scared of storms."

"I'm not!" Scootaloo immediately defended herself, but her eyes were wide. "But Locket is!" She danced nervously in place, looking around the farm as if her cousin would magically appear because they were talking about her. "You haven't seen a white pegasus filly around, have you Rainbow Dash? I haven't seen her in a while, and if she gets stuck in that storm…" She trailed of, not sure how to finish her sentence.

Thankfully, the pony of Loyalty immediately picked up on her worry. "I'll tell the other pegasi to keep an eye out for her, you three do the same as you head to town to wait out the storm," she told them firmly. "Don't stay out in it looking for her, okay? You need to be safe too."

"Will do!" they chimed and watched her take off at full speed. Sweetie immediately said, "Let's do like Locket suggested before, and split up to cover more ground. We can each take a way to the library, and maybe one of us will find her."

"Good idea," Applebloom said and the three fillies separated, Scootaloo trotting the fastest as she realized that maybe letting her cousin run off on her own, upset, hadn't been the best course of action.

* * *

><p>"Locket! Locket, where are you?" Scootaloo called at full volume, her worry at near frantic levels. Rain was already falling down on her in a faint drizzle, and her ears twitched as the first sounds of lightning reached her ears. She had taken the route farthest to get to the library, and she hadn't caught sight of the other pegasus yet. Somehow, she doubted her friends were having much more luck. How hard should it be to find a <em>white<em> filly? Apparently much harder than she thought… Planting her feet, she tried again. Taking a deep breath, she screamed, "_LOCKET! WHERE ARE YOU?"_

"_Scootaloo!" _came the answer, a shrill shriek just as the first flash of lightning and roll of thunder came overhead. The brief flash of light made Locket's white coat much more visible to Scootaloo's eye. The filly was cowering at the base of a tree. Her wings were shaking and pressed tight against her back, completely unable to fly. Locket was nearly in tears from fright, and she shrieked as soon as more thunder boomed overhead.

"Locket, we have to get out of the rain," Scootaloo told her, only to have her cousin give her a look of terror. Resolutely, she shoved at the slightly bigger filly, forcing her shaky legs to move out from under the tree. She wasn't cruel, though. Whenever lightning flashes, she would let Locket cower down, bracing for the next crash of thunder, before forcing her to walk again.

Soon, thankfully, the lightning and thunder faded in favor of solid rain. While they weren't slowed down by Locket's terror, they were now both shivering, this time from the cold of the water. Scootaloo shook her mane, trying to get some of the moisture out so it would stop dripping in her eyes.

"I lied."

Startled, the—now darker—orange pegasus looked at her cousin in confusion. Her head was drooping down and she refused to look up from the ground. "My friends? Sweetkiss and Dawnrise? They're just two fillies in the academy Papa works at. I've never met them, they're older than me, two of his advanced students."

Staring at her, Scootaloo didn't even notice that they had stopped in the middle of the road in a cloudburst. "Why would you lie about your friends?" she finally managed to ask.

"Because I don't have any!" she admitted, her voice slightly shrill as she looked at her accusingly. "Papa was always telling me about you and your friends, and all the fun you had, and then when we were in the kitchen and you started telling stories, I didn't know what to do, so I thought if I said I had friends, I'd get along with you and yours better." She stopped in her rambling to stare at the ground. "I didn't know you hated me so much. I just… I keep _trying_ to make people like me. There aren't hardly any cloud artists in Cloudsdale who treat it as more than a passing hobby, and everyone thinks I'm stuck up for trying to do it when I grow up. Those who don't dismiss me because I'm not trying to create the next super-cool move like the Sonic Rainboom, anyway… I'm just… I'm sorry for lying, I'm sorry for making you hate me. I'll just, stop bugging you, okay?"

It took a second for Scootaloo to catch up with everything that came flying out of Locket's mouth, and but less than that for her to catch up with him. "Hey, I don't _hate_ you," she protested, catching up and making Locket stop so the filly _had_ to look at her. "I just… I didn't get it, okay? I didn't know you were going through that at home…" She knew things weren't easy for Locket, with just her dad to look after her. It just…didn't cross her mind that Locket tried _too _hard, and instead of making friends just drove away those her own age. Sighing, she said, "Maybe… Maybe we just need to stop trying so hard to get along."

Locket tentatively smiled back and nodded.

"Hey girls!" Both twisted their heads to see an open doorway with a purple unicorn in the doorway. "Are you going to stand in the rain all night?" Twilight Sparkle teased, and with grins the two cousins darted inside where _their _friends were waiting and where it was warm.

Later, while watching Scootaloo help Locket sleep during another round of thunderstorms, Twilight would have Spike take a letter for Princess Celestia.

_Today, one pony realized that by trying too hard, she was actually driving people away instead of making friends. And another realized that if you couldn't friends with your family, who could you be friends with?_

***sticks her tongue out at the story* Bleh, I could NOT get this silly thing to end! And I know that the ending with Twilight's little letter is way too simplified, since some of us have rather bad family lives, but the point is to look at the big picture, yes?**

**I'm looking into doing a themed-drabble series about Locket and her father… It could be fun? We'll see… Thanks for reading (and reviewing, if you are so inclined), TTFN!**

**EDIT 7/7: Sorry folks who got a new alert (if you did), but I needed to do this because a reviewer sent me questions, but they have their private message disabled. So,_ RHJunior_, here's your answer instead (and sorry I'm having to do it publicly), and I hope this clears up things for other people as well if you had similar questions. I know it's a little pat, and I wasn't on a schedule other than my own. That said, I wrote it so it WOULD be a little pat, because I wanted it to read a little like the episodes feel, and those are pretty darn pat too. So, I'm glad it seemed that way to you, though I'm sorry it seemed rushed. I'm not tinkering with it though, simply because it feels DONE to me, and tinkering with something just to make everyone happy seems wrong to me. As for her cutie mark... Darling, I am just going to ask for you to look at her description in the first chapter better. Because obviously you mistakenly thought that her NAME and her CUTIE MARK were the same thing, which isn't the case always (I'd love for someone to explain how Pinkamina Diane Pie translates to three balloons if that was supposed to be the case), and for Locket isn't the case at all. How she got her name is going to be addressed in the drabble series that I went ahead and decided to write, and it's both a bit sad and a bit sweet at the same time.**

**On that note, I will ALWAYS reply to questions sent to me in a review, but I need an e-mail address or you to send a signed review (with PMs enabled) for me to do so. Otherwise, I guess I'll keep tacking on to this last chapter...  
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